This application claims the priority of German patent document 102005039905.3, filed Aug. 24, 2005, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention is directed to an arrangement for adapting a lighting system to a motor vehicle.
Such a lighting system is disclosed, for example, in German patent document DE 199 020 15 A1, in which an image recording device and an image evaluation arrangement capture images that are used by an adjustment device to control the lighting system.
One object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of this generic type, which responds better to changes in traffic conditions, and controls the beam width of the headlights of the motor vehicle and/or the shape of the light beam, so that the driver has an optimal illumination of the area in front of his vehicle without blinding the oncoming traffic at the same time.
In contrast to the known state of the art, the method according to the invention for traffic dependent light width regulation uses images from at least two cameras, which work together as a stereo camera, and makes it possible to represent a spatial picture. In this manner, it is possible more advantageously to arrange the position of different light sources in the area outside of the motor vehicle and better to determine their separation from their own vehicle and from each other.
In addition, the information which is obtained by evaluating the camera images can be used not only to adjust the light width; it can also be evaluated to further assist functions in the vehicle. For example, by determining the path and/or the surface condition of the road, a speed warning can be generated. Moreover this information can also be evaluated by a control device to adapt the vehicle behavior to the actual conditions. Thus, the motor and/or drive control, chassis arrangement and driving dynamics adjustment, for example, can be adapted to irregularities and wetness of the highway.
The recognition of objects and the determination of the object position has the further advantage that, with the recognized object the road course can be better defined, and relative movement of the objects can be represented to one's own vehicle. This again makes it possible to activate various additional functions such as for example the active pedestrian protection, and automatic high beam or the passing lights.
In addition to object recognition, evaluation of the camera pictures also makes it possible, using the captured light, to draw conclusions regarding the light ratio and the visibility. Moreover the activation of the rain sensors, the front fog lights and the rear fog lights can be used.
The evaluation of the pictures from at least two cameras has the further advantage that the pictures taken can be evaluated for plausibility and that the failure of one camera need not lead to a general shutdown of light width regulation. Rather, an emergency control mode can be activated.
By the additional features, advantageous further advances and arrangements of the traffic dependent light width regulation are apparent from the invention. Thus, the capture of various conditions around and in the vehicle has the advantage that the various factors to which the light width of the headlights is to be adapted can be divided into various priority stages, and the procedures whereby each of the various figures is to be evaluated can be utilized according to the requirements of an order of importance priority list.
A further advantage of the invention is that by the continuous picture capture, the headlight control is always adaptable to the actual present conditions.